CHICKEN IN PUFFED PASTRY RECIPES

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

2. Use a round 9cm pastry cutter to cut out 12 rounds. Place 4 rounds on a lined tray and use a round 6cm cutter to mark a small round in the centre of each, without cutting through. These are the bases.

3. Place the remaining pastry rounds on the other lined tray and use the smaller cutter to cut out the centre of each to make rings of an even thickness.

4. Brush the outer ring of each pastry base with egg wash, taking care not to brush the sides or the pastry won't rise properly. Carefully place a pastry ring on top of a pastry base. Brush the top of the ring with egg wash and place another ring on top. Repeat with the remaining bases, egg wash and rings. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until well chilled. Brush the top ring of each pastry with egg wash, avoiding the sides.

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove any uncooked pastry from the centre and bake for 5-10 minutes or until the bases are golden and crisp. Cool on a wire rack.

6. Place the chicken and stock in a small saucepan. If the chicken isn't covered, add a little extra stock or water. Add the bay leaf and thyme and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and reserve the cooking liquid. Use 2 forks to shred the chicken and place in a medium bowl.

7. Heat the oil in a medium non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring, for a further 3 minutes. Add the shallot, season well and then mix into the chicken. Return the pan to the heat, add the wine and cook until reduced by half, then add the reserved cooking liquid. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the cornflour mixture and cream and stir until thickened. Remove the herbs. Add the chicken mixture and heat through. Season to taste. Spoon into the pastry cases and serve warm, sprinkled with spring onion.

1. For this recipe, you will need 800 g cooked white turkey meat, torn into big chunks.
2. This is dead simple, completely versatile and absolutely gorgeous. It’s not a pretty-boy pie; it’s a proper, old-school pie that everyone will be over the moon to see on the table. I’m putting leftover white turkey meat to good use here, but you could also mix brown meat in there too.
3. Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Put your bacon in a large pan on a medium heat and add your thyme leaves. Add a lug of olive oil and let it all fry off a few minutes. Add all of your prepped leeks and fry them off for about 3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper then pop the lid on top, turn the heat down to medium and let them cook away gently for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure they don’t catch. There’s going to be enough moisture in the leeks to keep them happy in the pan so they should be soft and melt in your mouth once they’re done.
4. When your leeks are ready, add the turkey meat to them and stir. If you’ve got a bit of stuffing mixed in there you can put that in too. Add the flour, mix it in well then pour in your stock and stir again. Add the crème fraîche then turn the heat up and bring everything back up to the boil. Have a taste and add a bit more salt and pepper if it needs it then turn the heat off. Pour the mixture through a sieve over another large empty pan and let the wonderful gravy from the mixture drip into the pan while you roll out your pastry.
5. Get a deep baking dish roughly 22 x 30cm. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with a bit of flour and roll your pastry out so it’s about double the size of your dish. Crumble the chestnuts over one half of the pastry then tear a few of the sage leaves over the chestnuts. Fold the other half of pastry on top then roll it out carefully and evenly so you have a rectangle big enough to cover your baking tray. Don’t worry if a few bits stick out here and there.
6. Spoon that thick leek mixture from your sieve into the pie dish and spread it out evenly. Lay your pastry on top, tuck the ends under then gently score the pastry diagonally with your knife. Add a pinch of salt to your beaten egg then paint this egg wash over the top of your pastry. Pop your pie in the oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. When the pie is ready, re-heat the lovely gravy and serve with your pie, along with some peas tossed in butter, lemon, salt and pepper and everyone’s happy!